Connectors and ports are widely used to inject drugs into a bottle or a plastic bag filled with fluids. These injection connectors allow the drug to be diluted with a solution before administering the same to a patient. Connector ports are also used with IV lines or tubing as a means for vascular access.
When injecting drugs into a bag, it is known to use a port with an elastomeric stopper. Before the first activation or use, the elastomeric stopper may be devoid of any hole or opening. The injection of drugs is typically implemented by using a syringe with a needle and filled with the drugs to pierce the elastomeric stopper and then discharging the drugs through the elastomeric stopper and into the bag. The elastomeric stopper may be resealable in order to avoid leak through the stopper after removal of the needle of the syringe, typically by compressive resilient force.
FIG. 1 shows a cross sectional view of a bag 90 storing a medical solution 92 before administering the solution to a patient. The medical solution 92 can be accessible through two known access ports 98, such as an administrative port and an additive port. The known ports are each typically equipped with an elastomeric stopper 80 disposed on a base port 86. The base port 86 may be sealed directly on the bag 90 made of plastic or thermoplastic films.
FIG. 2 shows an enlarged cross sectional view of one of the access port 98 according to FIG. 1. The known port 98 further comprises a resealable cap 84 covered by a tamper-proof cover 82. The tamper-proof cover 82 may correspond to a peelable aluminium foil sealed on the resealable cap 84. In order to inject into or remove drug from the bag 90, the elastomeric stopper 80 is designed to be punctured by a needle of a syringe or by the needle of an intravenous line after removal of the peelable cap 82. The port 98 further includes a pierceable membrane 88 integral with the base port 86. This pierceable membrane 88 forms an aging resistant barrier between the stored medical solution and the elastomeric stopper 80. This membrane is irreversibly broken upon first activation of the port, when for the first time a needle punctures the membrane 88 together with the elastomeric stopper 80.
The known port with puncturable elastomeric stopper necessitates the use of a needle to inject or withdraw drugs from the bag. Nowadays, the use of a needle is less desirable as it presents an accidental puncture hazard during manipulation by a health worker.
US publication No. 2003/0141477 A1 proposes a medical valve that avoids the use of needle in the transmission and delivery of fluid products to patients in a sterile environment. This valve is formed with a slitted hollow resilient membrane, the slit of the membrane being closed or opened depending on the insertion of a tip of a Luer lock connector in the valve. Once the slit is opened, a fluid passage is form trough the resilient membrane allowing the injection or withdrawal of drugs through the valve. Thus this valve satisfies the requirement of a needle free use, yet many other requirements are to be fulfilled. Among the many requirements that the medical valve of US publication No. 2003/0141477 A1 tries to satisfy, this valves fails to disclose a minimizing of the priming volume.